The subject matter disclosed herein relates to a tamponade and a method of controlling a hemorrhage, and in particular to a tamponade for controlling a hemorrhage that occurs during a vacuum assisted percutaneous core breast biopsy.
Vacuum assisted breast biopsy (VABB) is a method used to remove breast tissue that has been identified as suspicious on a mammogram, ultrasound, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), or physical exam. It allows the tissue to be examined and identified as benign or cancerous. When performing this type of biopsy, a large probe or needle 20 is inserted into the breast 22 under radiological guidance as shown in FIGS. 1-3. In a VABB procedure, an aperture 24 near the tip 26 the needle 20 positioned directly into the lesion 28 or directly inferior to it (FIG. 1). Once the needle 20 has been positioned, a vacuum is applied to an inner bore of the needle 20 to draw the lesion 28 into the aperture 24 (FIG. 2) and a cutting mechanism 30 cuts a sample 32 from the lesion 28 (FIG. 3). This sample 32 is then transported to the distal end of the needle 20 by the vacuum, removed, and retained for testing. Once the sample 32 has been removed, the needle 20 is rotated or elevated and the process is repeated until the lesion 28 or the desired amount of samples have been removed.
It is estimated that up to 7% of patients who undergo a VABB procedure experience a hemorrhage condition during the procedure. To stop the bleeding in these patients, the surgeon or technician removes the needle 20 and applies exterior pressure to the breast 22. The application of external pressure does not allow the physician to apply pressure directly to the hemorrhage site that is located within the incision created during the procedure. In some cases, the hemorrhage cannot be controlled using this method and surgery is required. It should be appreciated that it is undesirable to perform surgery on a patient that has not fasted prior to the procedure due to the risk of complications.
While existing biopsy procedures and methods of controlling hemorrhages are suitable for their intended purposes the need for improvement remains, particularly in providing a device that can stop the bleeding from a hemorrhage safely, effectively, easily and quickly during a surgical procedure.